LCAP: Solidarity with cleaners on the Underground - take action

from LCAP, 9 October 2008:

17 years ago, cleaners on the Underground earnt £5.75 an hour. In 2008, many earn less than this. Cleaners on the Underground have taken three days of strike action this summer for a London living wage, pensions, sick pay, an end to third party sackings, 28 days’ annual leave and free travel to work.

This won a commitment from Transport for London that cleaners on all but three lines would receive a living wage. However, payments have taken 2 months to come through, some contractors are refusing to pay them and the contractor who runs the three remaining lines is refusing to budge. On top of this, racist immigration laws have been used to intimidate those in the union, and three members have been deported. The dispute is far from over!

Join us for leafleting sessions at key stations

Cleaning contractors ISS have been given a 10 week ultimatum by the unions to ensure that there is a timetable for a living wage for the final three lines. In the meantime, it is important that cleaners’ organising continues.

There has been a significant turnover of cleaners since immigration victimisations began. New cleaners need to be invited to join the union, and existing members need encouraging to take action.

We have printed 1500 leaflets, with updates on the dispute, victimisations and solidarity actions. We hope to distribute these to cleaners and tubeworkers over the next few weeks, focusing on key stations for potential future strike action.

We have planned several times to go out leafletting together, to get experience and confidence for doing it in smaller teams at targeted stations over the next few months. All are welcome:

* Thur 9 Oct, 6.30pm, King’s Cross - Contact: Anna 07952 254487
* Sat 11 Oct, 10am, Waterloo - Contact: Anne-Marie 07840 381195
* Mon 13 Oct, 6.30pm, Stratford - Contact: Guled 07857 973349

Demonstrate in solidarity with tube cleaners

AT MAYOR’S QUESTION TIME ON WED 15TH OCTOBER 2008, CITY HALL, 10AM-11AM
Meet outside City Hall (by the river between London Bridge and Tower Bridge).

The Mayor is the chair of Transport for London. At Mayor’s Questions in July, he smugly promised that Metronet cleaners would receive a living wage by August. Not only did this not happen until two months later (and then patchily), but even while he was announcing it, racist immigration laws were being used to clamp down on union activists and members.

Next Wednesday (15 October 2008) is Mayor’s Questions again. We want to show the Mayor that he hasn’t seen the last of this dispute, and that we hold him along with the bosses of the cleaning contractors responsible for immigration victimisations. Come along and make some noise in solidarity with the cleaners. Bring banners, placards and noisemakers!

For more information, call 07840 381195.

[original article]

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | reddit | newsvine | furl | google | yahoo | technorati